Schrodinger's Spider
by YourGuardianAngel08
Summary: So this is a little bit of drabble that has a bit of a weird set-up: An explosion leaves Peter badly injured after he shields Morgan, Tony's son, from the blast. From here, you pick your story, chapter 2 will be Peter's survival and 3 will be his death. It does follow the loose universe I've been writing in for my other stories so Irondad/Spiderson, possible character death
1. Schrodinger's Spider

**Okay so bear with me because this is going to be a little bit of a long note:**

 **So I'm writing my own story (my own characters kind of thing) and I'm having trouble with character reactions to the death of one of my characters. In trying to deal with this, I thought it might be worthwhile to try writing a death scene for established characters and since I've been writing for the Avengers recently, I figured I would give it a shot. But (and this is another problem I'm having for my own characters), I can't actually kill Peter Parker, not possible for me to do, so I wrote two endings to this set up. One where he lives and one where he dies - shudder. They are both clearly labeled if you read the titles (please do)!**

 **So this is complete drabble, I don't have a villain in mind and it takes place somewhere in the little AU world I've set up in my mind but really all you need to know is that Tony has a son named Morgan and has basically adopted Peter.**

 **Please feel free to let me know what you think!**

* * *

"No!" Tony screamed.

He watched as the only action Peter could take was to curl around Morgan's smaller form moments before the explosion tore apart the room behind them. It opened the back wall to the world beyond and as soon as the heat from the fireball dissipated, the freezing New York air took its place. Small puffs of snow drifted in on the lazy breeze. For a moment, Tony simply stood there. His hands twitched at his side and it was not until his lungs physically started to burn that he realized his had not taken a breath since he had seen the explosion. But that burn tore him back to the present because with that breath, the sounds of the room slammed into his ringing ears. The rest of the Avengers were moving around him, rounding up the people who posed the biggest threat even while they threw looks over their shoulders toward the unmoving pile of burned scrap in the center of the room. It was as if they were taking care of the threat so Tony could see to his kids. He stumbled forward, ignoring the crunch of concrete and glass under his feet and he collapsed next to Peter. Before he even hit the ground, his suit was gone, back in its container. For just a moment longer he held his breath, taking in the blackened and torn flesh of his oldest son's back and then he heard Morgan start to cry. It was muffled and what was left of Peter's shirt shifted against the burned skin as Morgan clutched the material tightly. That reaction sparked something in Tony and he cursed himself for his weakness as he slowly put his hand on Peter's shoulder, praying to god that he got a response. "Peter?" He practically whispered, squeezing harder than he should have, hard enough to leave a bruise if his skin had not been so badly burned. But his son did not react. "Peter?" Tony tried again a little louder, his heart soaring when he heard renewed tears but when he realized it was Morgan, Tony felt his own tears catch in his throat. He knew he could ask Karen but also dreaded the answer, so he forced himself to press his fingers to Peter's throat, his heart in his own. "Please, Peter, please." Tony begged.

Nothing.

No beat. No inhale. Nothing.

Tony dropped his head against his chest. His tears fell onto the ruined skin of his son's shoulder and back. He pressed his fingers harder into the hollow of his throat, hoping he had missed the beat.

Again, nothing.

Then Morgan started to cry a little harder and Tony knew that he needed to get him out from under what was now…unsupported…weight. Tony actively forced himself to ignore the traditional phrase. Carefully, he used the hand on Peter's shoulder to roll him off Morgan. The young boy's hands moved upward with the motion, his hands still clutching the pristine fabric of Peter's shirt. As Tony rolled Peter's…Peter up slightly, Morgan winked open his tightly closed eyes. Seeing his dad, he immediately uncurled his fingers and scrambled out from under his brother. The six-year-old clambered into Tony's lap, contorting his lanky body into a small ball and hid his face in his dad's chest, an uncharacteristic, decidedly childish move for the precocious boy. Tony unconsciously wrapped an arm around the young boy, curling over him carefully, even while he lowered Peter back onto his stomach and left his hand gripping his shoulder.

But Tony could not just stop. He never just stopped. He pressed his fingers again to Peter's throat. Forcing himself to believe he had been wrong, that there would be a heartbeat if he just waited a little longer.

* * *

 **If you're reading my notes - the next one is the one where he lives, the one after that is the one where he dies. Please let me know what you think!**

 **I hope everyone has a wonderful night/day and stay creative!**

 **-Lily**


	2. Schrodinger's Spider: Alive

**So here is the alive one - hopefully you're reading the titles!**

* * *

Tony held his breath for just a moment longer. Ignoring Morgan's tears where they soaked his shirt. Ignoring the shouts and calls of the Avengers as they took care of the perpetrators. Ignoring the cold bite of frost on his bare hands.

He focused everything on the tips of his fingers. Then a stuttered beat pressed back. It was so soft, Tony nearly mistook it for hopeful thinking. But as he left his slowly freezing fingers there, another stubborn heartbeat thumped against the pads of his fingers.

A fierce burn of hope flared up in his mind and he immediately tried to move closer. Glancing down at the young boy on his lap, he quietly addressed him, "Morgan, I have to check on Peter, I need to move you, okay?"

The boy, who had been watching his brother from where he could hide against his dad's chest, did not argue. Instead of waiting for Tony, he crawled out from his dad's lap and sat cross-legged next to him, ignoring the cold that seeped into his pants, and keeping his leg pressed against his dad's. Tony carefully slipped his hand around the storage on Peter's wrist and told it to deploy across his back so he had a way to lay the kid on something that would protect the burns and lacerations. The suit quickly complied. Tony managed to roll Peter over.

Then he started talking. "Karen, what's going on?"

The sweet voice came through the coms slightly garbled but understandable. "Peter has multiple contusions, broken bones, and second and third degree burns across most of his back. His lungs were damaged and his liver has taken significant damage from both the explosion and the debris. He is unconscious and will more than likely remain that way given the extent of his injuries. Medical assistance is immediately required."

"Damn, Pete." He hissed before taking in a deep breath and calling, "Help! I need help now!" Knowing that someone would be over soon, Tony turned back to Peter and Morgan. Tony laid his hand along Peter's face, brushing the hair carefully back from where it had fallen over his eyes, "It's alright Pete, I gotcha. You're gonna be okay." Peter, unsurprisingly, did not react. But that lack of reaction still caused Tony no small amount of pain, and he took it out on his AI, snapping, "FRIDAY, where's our med team?"

"They were dispatched after the explosion but they are still five minutes out, boss." Thankfully for him, she didn't react to his moods.

"Relay everything from Karen to them, I want them to see to Peter first."

"Got it, boss."

The knot in his stomach was not gone but it definitely loosened a fraction and Tony glanced over at Morgan, "Buddy, how are you doin'?"

His younger son's tearstained face glanced up from where it had been fixed on Peter, "I'm alright, dad. Will Peter be okay?"

Tony did not miss the fact that Morgan was clutching Peter's arm and he laid his own on Morgan's shoulder, "He will be. We just need to get him some help." Then Tony really looked him over, noticing his pale face, bearing a few nicks and cuts that were slowly oozing blood, "Are you sure you're alright? Lying to me won't help and you know Peter doesn't like it when you lie."

"I promise, dad, I'm okay." The boy sniffled before thrusting his chin up, a much more characteristic response from the son of Tony Stark.

He did not get to say anymore as the rest of the Avengers appeared behind them. They formed a ring around the family and Steve knelt down on Tony's other side, "Everything is taken care of back there. How is he?"

"He's hurt pretty bad but you know him, he's tougher than he looks." Tony tried to smile but it felt more like a pained grimace. And when Steve fixed him with an annoyed glare, Tony relented, too drained and worried to do anything else, "It's bad, Steve." Then he swept his gaze across the room, "Are you sure you got everyone? I can't…we have to protect him." He finished with an unsure ferocity as he surveyed the rest of the room.

Steve, to his credit, did not take offense at the potential dismissal and instead clapped Tony on the shoulder, "We got them Tony and even if we didn't, no one is getting close to the three of you unless they're medics." Tony nodded thoughtfully as he slipped his arm around Morgan's shoulder and pulled him closer, his eyes never leaving Peter's unconscious form. He could feel the uneven heartbeats pressing back against the fingers he had on his son's wrist. He barely noticed when Steve stood again to stand guard.

* * *

The silence was interrupted as some of the men the team had knocked unconscious were coming to, the groans obvious in the quiet place but all it did was tear everyone's attention between their youngest member and the room they were in. The cold was creeping steadily in as their breath began to create little puffs of clouds with each breath. But Tony was only interested in Peter. As they sat, his breathing steadily worsened. The pained gasps turned into wet wheezes while blood slowly started to bubble up at the corners of his mouth. Tony had to keep from tearing at his own hair and incessantly asking FRIDAY where the med team was. Then Peter offered a distraction when he started to whimper in pain.

The soft sounds nearly broke Tony. It was nearly impossible to hear in the room but to Tony it was louder than the groans and shouts of the bound men and it ripped Tony's heart to shreds. Hoping to comfort him, Tony leaned over and pressed their foreheads together, running a hand through his hair and whispering to him. As soon as the moaning and fidgeting eased, Tony leaned back again but still kept a hand on his wrist while Karen gave him continuous updates that were increasingly more dire.

Then the sound he had been waiting for echoed through the room as the rumble of the quinjet engines powered down and Tony realized that the five minutes FRIDAY had predicted had not been wrong, it had just felt like a lifetime. Tony gladly handed off his son to someone who could actually do more than sit next to him and give encouraging words. Tony heavily fell back away from the team as the large group swarmed the injured man. He tugged his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his hands until Morgan awkwardly wrapped his thin arms around Tony's neck. As soon as he felt the touch, Tony uncurled and allowed Morgan to crawl back into his lap, folding his arms around his dad. Tony answered in kind, wrapping Morgan up tightly and burying his face in the young boy's shoulder. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he glanced back up and watched the frantic but practiced movements of the team.

As soon as Peter was on the stretcher, they were ready to move but then their sensors went crazy. Tony watched as Peter's head lolled to the side. Immediately, he clumsily stood with Morgan still clutching his neck. He took a halting step forward, until Steve put his hand on his shoulder and carefully held him back, "You can't help them, Tony."

They watched as the team went to work, desperately trying to bring Peter back. Tony pressed Morgan's head into his shoulder, not allowing him to watch as the electricity of the defibrillators caused Peter's back to arch in a way that Tony knew would aggravate the burns and cuts on his back. Tony could not tear his eyes away as the team reset to try again when the sensors continued to scream their annoyance. Morgan started to cry harder and Tony felt his own tears renewed as he quietly whispered to Morgan that everything was going to be alright. After the second jolt, the sensors calmed and the team took off toward the quinjet. Tony immediately started to move, shaking loose Steve's hold and tearing after the stretcher. Rhodey recovered first and followed him, clambering onto the quinjet's ramp just as it was closing.

* * *

The ride to the Compound was an uncomfortable one. Tony whispered to Morgan, who had stopped sobbing and was instead whimpering softly. Rhodes sat next to the both of them with an arm curled around Tony's shoulders. The medics were a flurry of motion as they continued to work on the badly injured hero but Peter remained stable the whole time they were in the air. As soon as the ramp dropped, the stretcher and all the medics were gone, leaving Tony, Morgan, and Rhodey to follow quickly behind. They stopped in the waiting room in time to see the doors swing shut behind the flying stretcher and instead sat down heavily in the chairs outside the operating theater. Tony held Morgan tighter as they sat to wait for information on his brother.

* * *

It was one of the longest waits they had.

Morgan had been checked out and cleared by one of the other doctors on the floor. He was fine except for two butterfly bandages holding shut the worst of the cuts on his cheek. He had finally told his dad that when Peter jumped on him, he fell forward and his cheek scraped the floor. But that had lead to another bought of crying that eventually lead to an uneven but deep sleep for the boy. Tony could not help but clutch his hands into fists from time to time, just to keep himself from killing…someone. Anyone. Still, he was rooted to the spot, unable to move until he heard about Peter.

By the time Dr. Fry emerged from the theater, Morgan was deeply asleep on Tony's lap but the man looked more like a wounded animal than a person. He was tensed in the seat like he was going to spring into action at any point and then when there was nothing to direct his attention to, he was just stuck. As soon as the doctor pressed the door open, Tony's sharp gaze latched onto her but he did not stand, just leaned far enough forward to convey his desperation without waking his younger son.

"Mr. Stark," the young doctor started, as soon fixed Tony with an exhausted look, "Peter will live…" Tony did not hear the rest of what she said. He was too overwhelmed by the knowledge to truly listen to the rest, he'd ask FRIDAY for the information later.

Tony and Morgan spent the next three days at Peter's bedside as they waited for him to wake up and when he finally did all the reprimands Tony had somehow justified when his kid was unconscious were forgotten. Instead, Tony clutched his son tightly and told him he loved him before the three fell asleep in the oversized hospital bed.

Because Peter was alive, Morgan was alive, and that was really all that mattered.

And if Tony happened to add a feature to Peter's suit that deployed as soon as his spider sense tingled, well, that was just because he had always been a fast learner.

* * *

 **This is not going any farther but this is the positive outcome to the earlier set up. I feel like this one was a little easier to write because ultimately, everyone was okay, I just hope it was authentic.**

 **Please feel free to let me know what you think and I hope you read the next chapter!**

 **I hope everyone has a wonderful night/day and as always, stay creative!**

 **\- Lily**


	3. Schrodinger's Spider: Dead

**So this the one where Peter dies so warning for character death I guess? This is the one I'm worried about in terms of characterization and its ability to compel the reader.**

 **Feel free to let me know what you think!**

* * *

He held his breath for just a moment longer. Ignoring Morgan's tears where they soaked his shirt. Ignoring the shouts and calls of the Avengers as they took care of those who had done this. Ignoring the cold bite of frost on his bare hands.

He focused everything on the tips of his fingers. But nothing happened. He pressed harder and still there was no answering beat, no hint of life. No indication of the man that had sacrificed his safety to protect another.

Tony swallowed hard, knowing what he needed to do but the heart in his throat almost made it impossibly. Still, he managed to squeak out, "Karen, what's going on?"

"Mr. Stark, Peter is showing no signs of life." The sad, sweet voice answered his question with as much empathy as she could but there was nothing she could do to change her factual response.

Then something in Tony broke. He threw his head back and howled. It was a blood-curdling scream that forced all movement in the room to stop dead in its tracks. But it was over as soon as it started and Tony simply collapsed. He clutched Morgan closer and leaned forward enough to latch onto Peter's shirt before his shoulders began to heave with the heavy onslaught of tears. He didn't notice when the others came over, their uniforms bloodied and torn. He only noticed they were there when Rhodes pulled a crying Morgan off his lap, giving Tony the opportunity to fall forward and fully pull the slowly cooling body of his oldest son to his chest. Steve knelt down next to him and laid his hand on the older man's shoulder, "Tony…" He started but then stopped haltingly, not knowing how to continue, "Tony please."

Tony swung out blindly, forcing Steve to jump back. Free of the distraction, Tony curled farther over Peter's body, softly begging his dead son to wake up, to say something, to prove him wrong.

But Peter never did.

Tony sobbed until the reality of the situation caught up with him. He dug his clawed hand into Peter's ruined shoulder, unaware, or unable to comprehend, the charred skin sticking to his fingers or the blood coating his hands. He sobbed until the tears would no longer fall, leaving his hitched breath to escape in uneven, short bursts.

As if it was a signal for him, Rhodey handed Morgan over to Steve and knelt down next to Tony when he saw the early signs of a panic attack, cursing himself for the unconscious thought that he was surprised it had not happened earlier. Rhodey laid his hand on Tony's back. "Tony," he said commandingly, even as the order he was planning on giving made him want to vomit, "Tony, you have to let him go."

"No, he needs help Rhodey. He needs help. I can't let him go." Tony practically whined, as he slowly started to rock the body.

"He's gone Tony, Peter's gone. You have to let him go and you have to see to Morgan."

"He's not gone Rhodey." Then he met Rhodes's eyes, his tear-stained face warped in a horrific look of pain, "He can't be gone."

Tony was begging. He was begging Rhodes to tell him that everything he was seeing, everything he knew, was wrong. But Rhodey knew he couldn't. Instead, he did not even try to fight back his own tears, "Tony, Peter's dead. You have…" He tripped over his own words momentarily before he continued, "You have to let him go. Let me take him, okay? You need to check on Morgan. He needs his dad too." The words felt like ash in his mouth, coating his tongue in acidic grit that nothing would wash away – he was using a live son to convince a father to let go of a dead one – and he hated himself for it.

Tony simply looked lost. He glanced down at Peter's slack face and then up at Morgan before looking again at Peter. Something seemed to click for him because he carefully pressed a kiss to Peter's forehead before he gently laid him down on his back. He tangled his hand in his oldest son's hair once more, wrestling with the idea that it would be the last time he would ever be able to do so.

And then he awkwardly stood and took a step backward. Steve handed over the struggling six-year-old who quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Tony's neck as both stared down at the body on the ground before Steve stepped into their line of site and carefully picked up the downed superhero.

Tony felt his stomach lurch and the tears return when he saw how boneless Peter looked in the Captain's arms. It should have been him, goddamn it should have been him. It should be Peter standing here with Morgan, not him. Never him. He tugged his younger son closer as the boy hid his face in Tony's collarbone, tears again beginning to soak his shirt. Tony held Morgan's neck and slipped his hand into his hair, missing the blood that he left in the strawberry blonde curls. As Steve walked passed him, Tony could not help but bury his face in Morgan's shoulder for a moment before he turned to follow the procession out of the building. He knew there was a quinjet waiting but he also knew there was nothing the med team on it could do to help Peter.

* * *

It was another three days before they had the funeral and for those three days, Tony did not talk to anyone. He locked himself away in his lab, building or tinkering or drinking, even Pepper was not sure but when he emerged, he was composed, well dressed, and sober.

Tony spoke at the funeral. It was short, heart-felt, and not at all what he had planned. But he managed to finish it without crying, picking Morgan up off the pew and settling him in his lap as he sat back down.

Then they laid Peter to rest and Tony made it through that with water-logged eyes but he managed to keep the tears from falling.

It was after they got home from the service, when he was safely ensconced in his private rooms with only Pepper and Morgan that the small family grieved for its loss. For Tony, it helped. A bit. But he knew he would never truly be okay again.

* * *

 **I'm hoping that was not too rushed, I wanted to get through writing the death of a character that I have written for before because its really freaking hard! I hope that it felt honest and authentic and made sense. Also, if you have read this far, thank you so much! I appreciate you reading through the (in my opinion) harder piece of the story. You are so wonderful and it is very much appreciated.**

 **Feel free to let me know what you think!**

 **I hope you have a wonderful night/day and as always, stay creative!**

 **\- Lily**


End file.
